Voters fill out their ballots in a polling place inside an auditorium at the SFMOMA on Election Day in San Francisco on Nov. 5, 2024. California voters approved state Proposition 36, meant to curb crime, by a margin of 40 percentage points, according to early unofficial election results.

California voters approved a ballot measure that would reclassify some misdemeanor theft and drug crimes as felonies, essentially undoing a previous ballot measure that big-box retailers and law enforcement officials have long blamed for increases in theft, property crime and homelessness.

Voters approved state Proposition 36 by a whopping margin of 40 percentage points, or 70.6% to 29.4%, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s general election. The ballot measure needed only a simple majority (50% plus one vote) to pass. The race was called by the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle shortly after 9 p.m. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by........

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